Netflix streaming subscribers watched more than 2 billion hours of video during Q4

Netflix announced on Wednesday that its streaming subscribers around the world watched more than 2 billion hours of video during the fourth quarter of 2011. The company also said it served more than 20 million streaming subscribers during the quarter. “We were thrilled to deliver more than two billion hours of TV shows and movies across 45 countries in the fourth quarter,” said Netflix Co-Founder and CEO Reed Hastings. “Netflix delights members by giving them choice, convenience and control over the entertainment they love for an incredibly low price.” The company lost 800,000 customers during the third quarter when it upset customers by raising its prices and then confused them with a short-lived attempt at a DVD rental spinoff business called Qwikster. Netflix is set to debut its original series “Lilyhammer” on February 6th and fresh content, such as Drive, Hugo, Captain America and Margin Call, will be available to customers in the coming months. The full Netflix announcement follows after the break.

Netflix Members Enjoy More Than Two Billion Hours of Movies and TV Shows in Fourth Quarter

With More U.S. Members Watching Instantly, and Aided by Global Expansion, Netflix Streaming Hours Grew Dramatically in 2011
Jan 4, 2012

LOS GATOS, Calif., Jan. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ —Â Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) said today its members instantly watched more than two billion hours of TV shows and movies streaming from Netflix in the fourth quarter of 2011.

With more than 20 million streaming members globally, Netflix has revolutionized entertainment by allowing people to enjoy TV shows and movies when, where and how they want with a click of a remote, mouse or the touch of a screen.

“We were thrilled to deliver more than two billion hours of TV shows and movies across 45 countries in the fourth quarter,” said Netflix Co-Founder and CEO Reed Hastings. “Netflix delights members by giving them choice, convenience and control over the entertainment they love for an incredibly low price.”

Throughout 2011, Netflix continued to add to its already expansive variety of TV shows and movies in the United States, signing new multi-year agreements with CBS, Twentieth Century Fox, Lionsgate, Miramax, Open Road Films, NBCUniversal, Dreamworks Animation, MGM and the Disney-ABC Television Group among others, and announcing the creation of the highly-anticipated Netflix original series “House of Cards,” a gripping political thriller from Executive Producer David Fincher and starring two-time Academy Award winning actor Kevin Spacey.

Another Netflix original, “Lilyhammer,” starring Steven Van Zandt of “The Sopranos” and Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, as a New York gangster in Norway, premieres on Netflix in the U.S., Canada and Latin America on February 6.

“In the coming months, Netflix members can enjoy complete seasons of great TV series from all the major networks and most branded cable channels as well as fantastic films like Drive, Hugo, Captain America and Margin Call,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos. “The more great TV shows and movies Netflix adds, the more people watch.”